Company briefs - 2011-12-01

Grain prices in Latvia this fall are on the average 16 percent to 27 percent higher than last fall, Agriculture Ministry deputy state secretary Rigonda Lerhe said, reports Nozare.lv. The prices for wheat, rye, barley and oats are, respectively 16 percent, 12 percent, 24 percent and 27 percent higher than last fall. Last October, a ton of wheat cost 120 lats (171 euros), whereas this year the price is 140 lats. Rye cost 110 lats per ton last fall and 122 lats now; barley prices have increased from 92 lats to 114 lats per ton, and prices for oats from 73 lats to 92.90 lats per ton. The price of buckwheat dropped 44 percent, from 347 lats per ton last fall to 192 lats this year.

Lithuania will invite companies to explore the country’s shale gas reserves in the first quarter next year, reports ELTA. The tender will be announced by the country’s Geological Survey, said Deividas Matulionis, head of the prime minister’s office. After investigations are complete, companies will be allowed to produce the shale gas, he said. Lithuanian reserves of shale gas, located in the southwest of the country, may cover the nation’s domestic consumption needs for between 30 to 60 years, Energy Minister Arvydas Sekmokas said in May, citing estimates by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Forty-five percent of Estonian employers intend to hire more staff in the next six months, a poll by the CV-Online job search portal indicates, reports National Broadcasting. In a poll a year ago the figure was 70 percent. CV-Online board member Agu Vahur said that the second half of last year and this year was a period of powerful recruitment as recovery to former levels took place. “In 2012, we will most likely see a stable, balanced demand and supply relation at the labor market,” said Vahur. The pollster pointed out seven spheres where the number of jobs would increase most: production, services, construction and real estate, transport sales, IT and technical equipment.